Always Double Check Your Work. Period.

I recently outed myself as a die-hard procrastinator. I make no apologies for my work habits and try to utilize my strengths and weaknesses to become the best freelancer I can be. It works for me – most of the time. I’ll be the first to admit that in the throes of a procrastination session, it isn’t uncommon for me to become, well, sloppy when it comes to doing that one final edit.

As a matter of course, I always do a final edit on my work. I like to get all my research and writing done in one fell swoop, and work best when I have a block of time to devote 100 percent to the article at hand. However, that doesn’t mean that I consider my article “finished” once my fingers leave the keyboard. “Finished” only occurs after the article has had time to rest, and I have time to return to it with fresh eyes.

The snowblind phenomenon is fairly common in writing. Once you have looked at an article or piece of work for long enough, you simply lose your objectivity. Things that make sense to your brain might be complete nonsense to someone who hasn’t spent the last two hours steeped in related research. Not to mention a tendency to miss important things like simple misspellings, punctuation, or grammar.

My college professors used to harp on this issue: never leave everything until the last minute so that you lose the chance to revisit your work with fresh eyes. I rarely listened to them then, but I listen now. Before you push that send button, double check your work. Here are a few tips I use to make it easier:

• As you get the email ready to send to the client, upload your articles/files one at a time. Read and approve each one before you attach it.

• Get a business partner who can perform a final once-over for you. (Okay, okay, this might not be the best solution for everyone. But you can find a writing buddy to perform a routine check every now and then in exchange for the same type of assistance.)

• Use the spelling and grammar check on your computer. While I don’t condone using word processors as the end all and be all of what good grammar constitutes, it never hurts to spend the thirty seconds to see what it has to say about your mistakes.

• Set your deadline one day ahead. That way, you can do a real final edit after you have had time to separate yourself from the article for an entire day.

• Use text reader software or even read the text aloud to yourself. Hearing the words often makes it easier to find mistakes or things that sound a little off.

• Ask a spouse or close friend to read it over. Even if your spouse is virtually useless in the word department (as mine is), he or she can offer a fresh perspective when it comes to things like content and quality.

• Hire someone to do a final read for you. Many freelancers (the Berry-Brewer Freelance Agency included!) offer a quick proofread for low cost.

A polished final product often means the difference between getting repeat work and having to dig up clients one at a time. Do it right the first time and edit!